PARALYMPIC hopeful Sam Rizzo has been settling into a solid training pattern in Ballarat after breaking a legend's record.
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Rizzo said excitement was building as he prepares to pull the green-and-gold back on for his second World Para Athletics Championships. The worlds are in Japanese city Kobe in late May, leaving Rizzo plotting out his next moves in a bid to boost his 2024 Paris Paralympic Games chances.
He staked his qualifying time in the 1500 metres wheelrace by eclipsing Kurt Fearnley's T54 Australian record for the distance which had stood for 12 years.
Rizzo knew he had been getting close. In the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, Rizzo had been about one second off Fearnley's two minutes and 54.75 seconds standard.
In Doha in mid-February, Rizzo blitzed Fearnley's time, clocking 2:50.84 in a top-10 finish. He said it had been a "messy" race and a shock to achieve but this was a record he had been focusing on.
Rizzo has been selected as a 1500m and 5000m competitor in Kobe and said he had the chance for a few more meets to showcase his race in a bid for Paralympic selection.
"I am really excited about the world championships. It's always a proud moment to wear the green and gold," Rizzo said.
"I'm really happy with how I'm progressing along."
Rizzo is hopeful that if he does make his Paralympic debut in Paris, it will be alongside his longstanding coach, four-time Paralympian Richard Coleman, who is from Geelong.
Training for Rizzo is predominantly based at Llanberris Reserve for track work and Lake Wendouree and "a few [other] good courses" about town, depending what training block he was working in.
While he does have strength and conditioning sessions with the Victorian Institute of Sport, Rizzo also trains in the RAD Centre's high performance gym based at Selkirk Stadium.
Rizzo said he had only got this far, so far, with the strong support of the Ballarat community.
The 23-year-old is vying to become Ballarat's first Paralympian since wheel racer-turned rugby player Greg Smith, who captured Paralympic gold in the 2000 Sydney Games in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m T52 events.
Smith was also a gold medallist with Australia's wheelchair rugby team in the 2012 London Games before retiring to coach in the sport.
Rizzo made his Australian senior athletics team debut in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. While he missed on a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Rizzo has still been competing on national and international stages.
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games start on August 28.
